Two-headed turtle Thelma and Louise get their own Facebook page

By John Tedesco :
July 27, 2013
: Updated: July 28, 2013 9:08am

Thelma and Louise, the two-headed turtle, is held by Craig Pelke, the curator of the reptiles, amphibians, and aquatics and at the San Antonio Zoo on Thursday, June 27, 2013.

Thelma and Louise, a recently hatched two-headed turtle, swims in the San Antonio Zoo’s exhibit case. Zoo personnel say the turtle is a result of the failure of a “twinning” process to complete, which would have created two separate turtles.

Breeley Cadorette, 5, of Sweeney gets a good look at Thelma and Louise.

Photo By San Antonio Express-News

Visitors flocked to the turtle exhibit to see Thelma and Louise, the two-headed turtle, on display at the San Antonio Zoo on Thursday, June 27, 2013.

Photo By Abbey Oldham/San Antonio Express-News

Thelma and Louise, the two-headed turtle, is on display at the San Antonio Zoo on Thursday, June 27, 2013.

Photo By Courtesy photo / San Antonio Zoo

A two-headed turtle named Thelma & Louise is part of a quartet of Texas cooters (a freshwater species native to the state) that were born at the San Antonio Zoo on June 18. The two-headed turtle will be on exhibit in the Friedrich Aquarium located inside the zoo.

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So many people are curious about Thelma and Louise, the female turtle born with two heads at the San Antonio Zoo last month, that the zoo launched an official Facebook page for fans who want updates and photos about the quirky reptile.

“We get inquires from people wanting to know how they're doing,” said zoo spokeswoman Debbie Rios-Vanskike, who still fields calls and emails from around the world about the two-headed Texas cooter.

The Facebook page offered an easy way to share how Thelma and Louise are developing, she said, and it will offer updates about the plight of other tortoise and turtle species. The zoo also set up pages for “Louise Left Head” and “Thelma Right Head.”

While uncommon, two-headed turtles occasionally hatch as a result of twin embryos that didn't fully separate. So far, it appears that Thelma and Louise, born on June 18, are completely healthy.